Bottom of the 9th with 2 Outs: Series review

There’s a fondness that I’ve had my entire life for best friend rom-coms. That is, dramas where the main couple consists of two best friends who circle each other their whole lives, not realizing that they’re destined to be together. It’s the kind of drama where everyone except for the two best friends knows that they’re in love, and we get a sick sense of pleasure in ranting, “Are you stupid? Don’t you know you love her? Kiss her already!”

One of my favorite old-school dramas was 1997’s Propose, which I’m mentioning twice this week, strangely enough. It had a similar premise, and I’ve always had a soft spot for dramas in this vein ever since. I hadn’t watched 2007’s Bottom of the 9th with 2 Outs when it aired because it just passed under my radar for whatever reason.

Friends had always recommended this drama because they know about my penchant for BFF-rom-coms, so it was on my to-watch list for some time. But then this past year, I saw Lee Jung-jin being all hot and badass in Runaway, and then I saw Su Ae being all hot and badass in Athena, and the thought of them being together just blew my mind.

The fact that it also starred Playful Kiss‘s resident Ducky, Lee Tae-sung was just icing on the cake. So off I went, and sixteen episodes later, I’m happy to report that this drama is totally in my wheelhouse, and worth sharing with the rest of the class.

Note: If you’re searching for this drama to give it a watch, sometimes it’s listed as 9 End 2 Outs, which is just how the title was translated (badly) at the time.

SERIES REVIEW

So judging from the title, the thing is about baseball, yeah? Nope. Not about baseball at all. It’s just a series-long metaphor for love, work, and the dating game, coupled with that major turn in your life, when you wake up north of 30 and face the fact that things didn’t exactly turn out the way you had imagined when you were young.

The heroine (played by Su Ae) begins the series on her 30th birthday, living in her mom’s house, and still struggling with her dream of becoming a writer. The only things coming out of Mom’s mouth daily are to give up her pipedream and get married already. Never heard that before. Nope. So faced with the harsh reality of folding her dream and getting married off to someone that her mom picks out, she decides to head out on her own.

Her best friend of thirty years (played by Lee Jung-jin) is a charming, playful playboy, who works at an advertising agency. What’s great about his character is that he isn’t the typical cold proud hero. He might occasionally be that guy to other women, but with the heroine, he’s warm, goofy, and childlike because they’ve been this close since they were kids.

Through a series of k-drama machinations, she ends up moving into his apartment, and they become one of the best roommate pairings in all of kdramaland. What’s great about these two is that they aren’t a pair of strangers who end up having to share an uncomfortably close living space (which has its perks in many dramas, don’t get me wrong).

But they’re best friends, who know WAY too much about each other to begin with…and then when coupled with having to live together, they essentially become a hilarious old married couple, mixed with the strange distance of being fully aware of being a grown man and woman who share a sexual attraction.

In short, it’s drama heaven. Sexual tension, adorable friendship, hilarious things they discover about each other as roommates…coupled with a grounded relationship with the one person in the world who tells it like it is, and holds your hand through all your breakups.

Seriously, if I think about it, I’m never jealous of relationships in k-dramas. I might want that kind of guy in my life, or I might want to be this kind of heroine, but usually k-drama relationships are quite…dysfunctional and, well, unrealistic, to say the least. I mean, how many people do you know who sign into contract marriages or fall in love with their abusive bosses?

But this drama actually made me want that kind of relationship (the friendship, not the abusive boss). I love their comfort level, and their realistic discussions about dating, sex, and love. It’s a refreshing kind of honesty that actually reflects the way real friends talk to each other. They have some hilariously frank conversations about the things men and women do, and why they are such different creatures when it comes to dating.

The main couple is surrounded by a group of college friends who’ve spent their twenties in a variety of ways, and then get back in touch. They form a nice context which informs the main couple’s friendship, but also provide another realistic setting of a group of thirtysomethings who knew each other when they were at their most idealistic and youthful.

But the biggest impetus for reflecting on age is the relationship that the heroine begins the drama with: her romance with a 22-year old baseball pitcher who’s still in college, played by Lee Tae-sung. It’s a wonderfully mismatched romance between a writer who’s entering a critical point in her dating life (as in, thinking about marriage and her future) and a kid who has never read an entire book, and is just starting to dream.

What’s nice is that it plays both sides of the coin. One the one hand, their relationship is doomed because the age difference is played realistically, which means that their expectations, their experiences, their futures—are all out of alignment. But on the other hand, because he’s a bleeding-heart 22-year old, and earnest to within an inch of his life, he chases her with utter abandon (which totally makes me swoon, a la The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry and Biscuit Teacher Star Candy).

So we’re with her every step of the way, when she’s completely taken with him, and when she comes up against a wall, and then when she’s reeled back in, and then forced to face another harsh reality. And through it all, her best friend talks her through it with lots and lots of beer, and then holds her hair back when she has to puke.

I love his initial teasing and relentless kid-jokes, all the while being the supportive best friend, and yet…still with that male posturing of I-could-take-that-kid-but-I’m-gonna-be-the-adult…which is equally childish, and hilarious to watch.

As we watch them date other people and struggle to figure out how to do right by their hearts, they grow closer by the day, until eventually their lives become incomplete without each other. It’s a progression that feels organic to the story, but also manages to do that crack-laced number on the audience, as we pick up on the signs faster than they do, and end up wringing our hands in anticipation.

We see through a series of short flashbacks sprinkled throughout the show that they had always loved each other, since they were young, but their timing had always been off. Towards the end of the series, when the six friends reflect on what love is, our heroine answers: “Love is: Timing.”

And that’s just something I believe—that love isn’t just the having of feelings, but two people who make choices to act on them, and in the end it all comes down to timing. Anyone who’s experienced losing that window knows what I mean. And I love a story that shows a realistic friendship between a man and woman that treads those murky waters.

It’s not just about denying feelings either, since they acknowledge the fact that feelings are there, but get scared of what they’ll lose—a potentially lifelong friendship that isn’t so easily disposed of, like other romantic relationships. And it’s a realistic fear, since, let’s be honest…how many of us actually stay friends with our exes?

What I like about this drama is more than just the tone or the story, but its point of view, about life and love. I love that the heroine struggles with the fear that this might be the last chance she’ll get at love, or that she has to face the fact that while her dream is to write, she may not be very good at it. Growing up means facing those fears, and coming to terms with who you are in spite of them.

I love that she doesn’t succeed as a writer in one fell swoop, but that she adjusts her expectations, and learns to become a better editor in the meantime. In facing her biggest fear—the possibility of losing her best friend and the love of her life—she gains the courage to keep working at her dream.

This drama isn’t particularly snazzy, and it doesn’t have a hook that sounds zippy as a one-liner. But it captures something fantastically rare. It shows that becoming an adult is actually a painful process, and one that we only begin to unfold at the quarter-life crisis. But the struggle that we go through is worth the reward on the other side: self-awareness, a broader sense of the world around you, and an appreciation for the people in your life who make you who you are. And if that just so happens to be your uber-hot BFF, then well, YOU WIN.

March 3, 2011 at 9:08 PM

UNREGISTERED

same here... at the time that I started this drama I had just started discovering kdramas and had the same set of expectations that I had from my earlier ones, so I wasnt too keen with the portrayal of relationships here...but reading your review makes me want to go back and pick it up again...maybe I will...thanx GF :)

March 6, 2011 at 8:04 PM

UNREGISTERED

Wow, same. And I actually legitly liked this drama, but real life got in the way (coughtryingnottofailmyclasses) and I never ended up finishing it. Plus, the fact that I started WHILE it was being released (woow...back in 2007?) and it wasn't all out put a damper on the run-a-marathon-drama-run idea.

March 7, 2011 at 2:06 AM

UNREGISTERED

Sry am writing a comment here. I just wanted to know where i can watch this drama? I can't watch it on dramafever as it doesnt allow my country IP. ALso it is not available on youtube, viki, epdrama anywhere...I mean either the videos are removed/ not working. Can anyone let me know where i can watch it? Thanks.

March 4, 2011 at 12:03 AM

UNREGISTERED

I agree with you. This drama is like a huge bowl of loaded mashed potatoes to me (you know, cheese, crumbled bacon, sour cream, chives...). Its got a little bit of everything and its definitely the comfort drama I find myself watching right before I go to bed. Then I always have really good LJJ dreams.

March 3, 2011 at 8:49 PM

UNREGISTERED

Oh My Gosh! Thank you so much Girlfriday! I was Just contemplating whether or not to start this series, due to the temporary dull moment in the current K-drama land...(I miss Dream High and My Princess...but looking forward to 49 days!)

March 4, 2011 at 4:02 AM

UNREGISTERED

This was just what I wanted too!! An hint for a new drama to follow after the sad emptiness of "another awesome drama is finished"... But I can't find it anywhere, sob. (I'm not in the US so dramacrazy doesn't work for me :(
Well I'll find a way to see it! I always skipped it because I thought it was a sport drama, lol

March 3, 2011 at 8:50 PM

UNREGISTERED

Haha. There are times even when timing doesn't work. Life's not a k-drama though I wish it were. I dated my BFF whom I liked for 9 years [I liked him before becoming friends with him]. But, we knew so much about each other that things just wouldn't work out. In the end, we broke up after 3 months and now there's always a thin veil of hidden things when we're talking.

March 7, 2011 at 10:59 AM

March 3, 2011 at 8:50 PM

UNREGISTERED

This is one of my favorite dramas in all of my kdrama-viewing years! LJJ is hawt! and Su Ae is charming and endearing. Thanks for giving this drama a second glance.. hopefully others will get curious enough to try it out! My favorite spot in their apartment is the couch! lol

March 3, 2011 at 8:51 PM

UNREGISTERED

I've always felt the show was essentially 2 dramas. The first half is Full House for grownups, vibrant slapstick and situational comedy that deliciously serves all flavors of "are they or aren't they?" Personal Taste's sweet half swirled with Woman Who Can't Marry's sassy half, with dollops of Hand Towel Man moments. Moar!!

The 2nd half . . . well, the 2nd half turned into Felicity. Or the Verve Pipe's "Freshmen" It got serious; it got moody; it got amazingly navel gazing with its riff on serendipitous synchronicity.

In the end, I didn't emotionally connect with the material. There wasn't a genuine sense of discovery (or better yet, a real sense of potential loss) between these friends. And all the 30-something observations felt more like the work of 20-something writers writing about what they think 30 would feel like. Basically true, basically so what. Pajamas in the City.

March 3, 2011 at 9:12 PM

UNREGISTERED

I kind of sort of agree. When I first watched it, I had to forward through some of it. I just wasnt interested in the angst. But I went back a couple of times through the years, and appreciated those scenes too.

March 6, 2011 at 4:05 PM

UNREGISTERED

definitely agree, while i loved this drama and it kept me up at nights trying to finish it in one gulp, their were parts where the two different themes presented didn't mesh well so i guess that's why many forgot about it or never continued to go forward with it
but the acting in this series was superb, the main leads were so comfortable and convincing that while many fans were sad that they didnt get to see more lovey dovey scenes after they got together, I enjoyed that they cut that part out since from the start, the drama was them being a couple without actually defining their couple status

March 3, 2011 at 8:54 PM

UNREGISTERED

I have to go back now and rewatch this. I watched it during that time of my life when I was too tired to actually pay attention to what I'm watching and just fastforward to the "good parts". I loved the whole best friends to so-much-more transition, but it was quite a slow process to get there. Heh. I guess I should give it another shot, and this time watch WITHOUT fastforwarding.

March 3, 2011 at 9:01 PM

UNREGISTERED

I just watched this series and I must say it was so damn realistic that in several scenes it's as if I was watching snippets of my life... now If only i could get a hold of a dvd, this one is worth re-watching...

March 3, 2011 at 9:07 PM

UNREGISTERED

one of my favorite dramas ever!!!! God knows how many times i've watched this, and every single time, it never fails to leave me feeling happily giddy and satisfied. it is THAT good. well, at least for me it is. :)

girlfriday, i can't believe you just watched it now!! i mean, after propose, i thought you'd get your hands on all dramas with the besties-turning-lovers plot. and lee jung jin!!! how can you let 3(???) years pass without watching this? just wondering.

March 3, 2011 at 9:12 PM

UNREGISTERED

I watched this drama 2 years ago, and your recap makes me want to watch it again...I think I missed something. It's not a drama that made an impression on me, and I just couldn't relate or accept her relationship with Lee Tae-sung, which was a big chunk of the show. maybe i'll give it another go....

March 3, 2011 at 9:19 PM

UNREGISTERED

I remember looking at this drama once upon a time and thinking:

"But I dislike baseball"

And just like that I went on to the next synopsis.

And then one week ago I became extremely desperate....and not wanting to watch the back up plan (The very desperate back up plan) I searched for options and......this! This kept coming up in lists! But I was still reluctant....and now your review has given me that extra shove of girlfriday-trust to send me watching.

Thank you!

(I think I was a bit sad that the younger man doesn't get the noona as I tend to really like that theme - but again - shove shove shove! I'll give it a go!)

March 3, 2011 at 9:33 PM

UNREGISTERED

I watched this drama while Runaway was airing, because I just had to get more Lee Jung Jin!!!! I was surprised to find it that it was such a delightful and sweet couple. I like your comment about falling in love with abusive bosses, and it's probably the reason I liked this drama so much: the plot was really refreshing.
I love that both characters had the option to settle for good people, but still decide to take a chance at love... it felt real. And boy, if I had a BFF as HOT as Lee Jung Jin, I would...ok I need to calm down now :D

March 3, 2011 at 9:34 PM

UNREGISTERED

This is one of my all time favorite drama!!!! I love this couple sooo much!!! I am a sucker for this kind of drama...after I finish it I rewatch all the part with the main couple in it...it's that good!!!! I love all their insightful conversation!!! This drama hold a very special place in my heart!!! All time best couple for me!!!!

March 3, 2011 at 9:34 PM

UNREGISTERED

i am trying to watch the dramas which you, jb & gf, gave good reviews on your drama ratings list..
incidentally, i just finished watching this drama last night on dramafever.. thank you for the good heads-up on this one, i loved it!

March 3, 2011 at 9:38 PM

UNREGISTERED

Loved this drama, I watched it when it was airing and it was definitely one that kept me on my toes, your review was fabulous =)

The kpop lull is starting to hit with Dream High finishing off and nothing else too interesting on the horizon...too bad I've watched too many dramas; I'm out of all the good ones to watch...I may just re-watch this one though!

March 4, 2011 at 12:32 AM

UNREGISTERED

I'm glad someone else out there is also out of good Kdramas to watch! I was so desperate about two weeks ago finding the right kdrama to watch too! How about trying the Kmovies? Kang Dong Won and Lee Na Yang's Our Happy Time/s is a beautiful poignant movie, well acted, very artistically directed with a sweet story to boot.

March 3, 2011 at 11:20 PM

March 3, 2011 at 9:54 PM

UNREGISTERED

I just watched this over the weekend. It was so horribly addicting. I was so happy to see them quabble and get along so well for the whole series. It's nice to see main characters get along well for more than one episode, even if they aren't dating the whole time.

The time spent watching this drama and not doing my homework was well worth it!

March 3, 2011 at 9:56 PM

UNREGISTERED

Finally!!! I left a recommendation in DB blog a long time ago, but it seems java beans is too busy.
It is such an underrated drama... The show is realistic, somehow I can see my life in that. We dont have a chaebol or poor girl, falling in love with other from different classes. Love, separation and pain. This one reflects more on in-love-with my best friend kind of thing which one of the few K-dramas have.. But I love the two leads, and from that drama, i am more participated in their work.

March 3, 2011 at 9:56 PM

UNREGISTERED

a beautiful review of the drama, girlfriday! You've hit on all the big reasons why I love this little gem of a drama. I still can't believe the ratings for it was low when it first aired. Admittedly, I first went for it for the full-house cohabitation factor and was hoping for all sorts of rom-com hijinx, but fell in love with the reflective tone of the drama and of the conversations these two have with each other.

March 3, 2011 at 10:07 PM

UNREGISTERED

YES. I am so glad you featured this drama because this is where I fell in love with Lee Jung Jin (despite seeing him first in Love Story in Harvard) and appreciate Su Ae.

It reminds me a bit of a slice of life dorama but narrated on a Korean perspective, which is still good in my book because these types of dramas make me feel more human and understand relationships more. This drama is in my top list, and I never regret spending almost 17 hours watching this series because it's really worth one's time.

March 3, 2011 at 10:12 PM

UNREGISTERED

BFF rom-com? Count me in! Thanks, GF - this is actually a nice surprise since I had just mentioned in the Seasons Drama PD post that I also like "BFFs who fall in love" storylines, and someone recommended this one to me. Now I have two recommendations, I think I'll have to see it.

March 3, 2011 at 10:13 PM

March 3, 2011 at 10:23 PM

UNREGISTERED

I'm going to have to check this one out for Su Ae.

Btw, has anyone seen the film "Wedding Campaign" (about 2 bachelor farmers who go to Uzbekistan to find ethnic Korean brides) starring SA and Jeong Jae-yeong (who is definitely one of the better actors)?

March 3, 2011 at 10:47 PM

UNREGISTERED

This k-drama is one of my favourites for the very same reasons that gf has listed.

But what I really like are some incidental aspects of the drama:
- the fact that both the hero and heroine have more than 1 other friend; they have that group of friends from university/high school, and they also have work friends
- there's enough focus on the ancillary friendships to develop (to varying degrees) identifiable different relationships between the friends
- their discussions on their careers and life at that point in time (granted, this resonated particularly with me as I was then temporarily unemployed and considering where I was going in my own life)

But I hated the way they handled some of the hero/heroine relationships:
- the long long weepy dramatic relationship with the younger guy; it was so different in tone compared to the rest of the show, which was much more 'adult'
- the return of the ex-gf; pointless and fizzled, other than to drag the whole thing on

For the friendships and life perspective, this will remain one of my favourite k-dramas ever, but there are definite weaknesses to the story.

March 4, 2011 at 5:43 AM

UNREGISTERED

I think the problem with the return of the ex-girlfriend is that we had already gone down this road with his first serious girlfriend since his great love of his life ex-girlfriend. We didn't really know why we were supposed to care about this woman, even if the actress herself had charm.

March 4, 2011 at 8:17 AM

UNREGISTERED

I agree with your points entirely. I also think the return of the ex-gf was just to serve extra angst and give the heroine a bout of noble idiot syndrome which I don't get in any k-drama.
On the other hand, I think the relationships were necessary for them to really figure out their relationship. I think without them, their relationship would have fizzled easily since they know too much about each other. Knowing what they gave up to be with each other (great loves) it makes them want to be together more...
I love this drama. I rewatched this a few months ago and fell in love with it all over again. Plus LJJ is in it, which is a plus!

March 6, 2011 at 10:12 PM

UNREGISTERED

I was not a fan of it either. I couldn't see any sort of chemistry between the two leads, and I thought she sort of had better chemistry with the younger love interest (though that was doomed from the start).

I felt like how they got together at the end was pretty random and uncalled for. I've always wondered why people think so highly of this drama though, and I'm wondering if I really just missed the whole point? I just couldn't like the main characters at all.

March 4, 2011 at 5:46 AM

UNREGISTERED

I know! I kept thinking when we watch those scenes that "Hey! That looks kind of interesting! Don't stop!" Can we pretend that Su Ae’s character kept with writing and eventually wrote the book/manga the Joseon X-Files was "based" on. (I know that the Joseon X-Files was actually not based on anything except maybe the American X-Files.)

March 4, 2011 at 12:38 PM

UNREGISTERED

Ah, someone who agrees! In the drama, I think we're supposed to think Su Ae's character's novel is sort of silly but I remember being pretty intrigued with the idea and disappointed that it was never revisited.

Joseon X-Files was actually inspired by real historical records (as far as I know) and I assume Su Ae's character probably got her idea from the same historical accounts. So, I think it's totally logical to assume that, in Dramaland, Su-Ae must have written the book that Joseon X-files was based on. (Okay, I've officially gone way overboard on my drama fixation.)

March 3, 2011 at 11:14 PM

UNREGISTERED

I agree.
I never had a male BFF, and after watched this, I want one. I don't need he becomes my 'soulmate' whatsoever, I just need an opposite sex friend, who is dependable, a shoulder to cry on, and be there when I need him.

March 3, 2011 at 11:30 PM

UNREGISTERED

This is DEFINITELY one of my favorites. And I sorta forgot about it.

I think because watching it, it really resonates with me, myself. Love is all about timing, I agree with so much of how the relationship is portrayed in here. Timing, timing, timing. And everything is just so realistic. This isn't necessarily the fast-paced plot-based drama - it's something that is really meant to be mulled over. It's like a cup of warm water, you know, maybe a little bland-tasting, but really warming and comfortable. It's a nice slow-paced drama and I don't mind the slow pace at all.

I'm glad I have a male BFF, who I have liked forever, on and off through our friendship. Although I have never acted on my feelings, though, and I'm too cowardly to do anything about it so I take the approach of que sera sera. For me, it's physical distance and, currently, just busy-ness in our lives - we actually haven't really talked in a while because we're just so far away and sooo busy. It's weird, but I can tell him pretty much anything, and he is dependable - he's always free for a phone call where I can rant about random stuff and he'll always dish out great advice. It's warming to hear a guy friend stick up for you and say, "Do I need to beat up this person for you?"

I feel like re-watching this now. LOL. Great. Another thing to add to my watching list, which is really full despite my busy schedule.... Ergh.

March 3, 2011 at 11:36 PM

UNREGISTERED

Kind of appropriate considering my mother seems to think I'm going to "rediscover a connection" with ("any!") one of my old school friends at my upcoming reunion. Thanks, mom, for solidifying my decision *not* to go.

And also mom? I did not go to high school with Song Seung-heon.

Pity, that.

This looks promising, GF. And yeah, I always thought it was about baseball, so I never even bothered reading the synopsis on DF. Now I'll have to check it out... so thanks for the review!

March 3, 2011 at 11:41 PM

UNREGISTERED

Aw this is one of my favorites :O) After watching this show I wanted a hot male best friend sooo badly. But not because I had some bizarre-o fantasy where we fell in love and lived happily ever after or anything, I swear.

March 3, 2011 at 11:56 PM

UNREGISTERED

GF, thank you so much for writing this review! 9E2O is one of my favorite drama...but it's so underrated. Thus hopefully with your wonderfully written review, more people would be willing to give it a try.